7 Cars That Prove 3-Cylinder Engines Can Still Be Sporty

Depending on where you are in the world, sports cars can have anywhere between four and 12 cylinders. But three cylinders in a sports car? That must be unheard of, right? Well, it's not. The recipe has been here for almost seven decades! And, defying conventional wisdom, it gave the automotive world some tasty fun machines.

Not that this should surprise you. Three-cylinder engines are smaller. Less complex. Thus, they could fit inside smaller and cheaper cars. You know what that means? Affordable fun machines! Sure, a V12 Ferrari is a dream car for most kids, but it sadly remains a fantasy for most of us. A quarter-V12 sports car can be a reality for most, though, even today, with companies like Toyota and Ford toying with the three-cylinder performance car concept.

I've been writing about, testing, and reviewing cars for over 15 years, and I always had a soft spot for cheap, attainable sports cars. Recently, the uniqueness of three-cylinder engines, particularly their off-beat sound, urged me to look deeply into sports cars motivated by these tiny machines. There is something for everyone in this segment, including front, rear, and all-wheel-drive cars. So, strap in, because these cars will prove you can have fun with a three-cylinder engine!

In 2017, colleague Chris Davies called the BMW i8 a 21st-century supercar. His predictions were spot on. Most performance cars today use heavy electrification to boost performance and keep emissions in check. What was innovative a decade ago, is today standard practice across the industry.

And then there is the obvious thing — the i8 is one of the best-looking BMWs ever made, with a futuristic design that still turns heads. It puts to shame today's BMW cars with drama. Scissor doors. Huge body openings with wings for aerodynamics. A keen front end with a regularly sized kidney grille. It's simply gorgeous.

Now, to the powertrain. Yes, most modern supercars are hybrids, but none yet dares to use a three-cylinder gas engine. Yet in 2014, BMW launched this sci-fi thing with a 1.5-liter three-cylinder turbocharged unit, producing 231 hp and 236 lb-ft of torque. Sounds underpowered? Don't worry, BMW also incorporated an 11.6-kWh battery, which powered an electric motor with 143 hp and 184 lb-ft of torque. Together, both produced up to 374 hp and 420 lb-ft of torque and propelled the i8 to 60 mph in 4.2 seconds.

The i8 was a plug-in hybrid, meaning you could also drive it for around 35 miles and at speeds up to 75 mph on electricity alone. Moreover, thanks to its mid-engine layout and low-positioned batteries, the i8 handled beautifully. Sadly, it didn't sell. Maybe it wasn't brash or loud enough. Or too complicated. But it remains a unique proposition that might become a future classic!

Ford actually beat Toyota to the punch in the three-cylinder hot-hatch game. Sure, the Fiesta ST isn't as wild as the GR Yaris, but it has its own merits. For instance, it's only a front-wheel-drive affair, so it weighs less at 2,657 pounds. Thus, its 1.5-liter three-cylinder EcoBoost engine with 197 hp and 236 lb-ft of torque brings it to 62 mph in brisk 6.5 seconds and a top speed of 142 mph. That's impressive for a small car.

If you follow the European automotive landscape, you'll know that Ford's Performance European arm knows how to make fun-to-drive FWD machines. The Fiesta ST is a testament to its prowess. Most publications rave about its agility and adjustability on a twisty road. This hot hatch allows you to drive it the way you want to. It even has a slick-shifting six-speed manual to keep your right hand occupied. Even so, it has a lot of mechanical grip, so track days aren't out of the question. Oh, and that tiny three-cylinder also sounds very characterful — perhaps even better than on the GR Yaris.

It's much more practical than its JDM rival, too. Ford used the four-door body from the standard Fiesta here, so the rear seats are usable, unlike on the GR Yaris. The trunk is significantly bigger, too. Add to that a fantastic 35-mpg fuel economy, and you have the true definition of a pocket rocket.

With the first five vehicles on this list, we've shown that three-cylinder performance cars can be overpowering. But three cylinders also allow for a more toyish take on the sports car. Enter the Sonnet I, Saab's first-ever sports car. This thing is so tiny that it might get a pass in a toy store. It measures 137.4 inches long, 55.98 inches wide, and just 32.52 inches high. Oh, yes, your head will stick out. Quite significantly.

Yet that's the overarching theme of the Sonett I. It's a car made for driving enjoyment. To have fun. A big part of that is undoubtedly the 748cc three-cylinder, two-stroke engine, which sends 58 hp and 62 lb-ft of torque to the front wheels. This sure sounds underpowered, but the Sonett I was made from an aluminum frame that weighed just 154 pounds. Meanwhile, its body panels were Glassfiber Reinforced Polyester, i.e., fiberglass. As a result, the whole thing weighed 1,102 pounds — as much as one polar bear! This adds to its undeniable charm, doesn't it?

So, although tiny, the three-cylinder was able to propel the Sonett I to 125 mph. Quite impressive for such a small car! In fact, in 1996, the Sonett I broke the Swedish speed record for cars up to 750cc with a speed of 99 mph. Sadly, only six Sonett Is were ever produced, but its legacy lives on in numerous ultra-light three-cylinder Kei machines.

[Featured image by Emilia Raiskio via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY-SA 4.0]

The JDM-only Honda Beat would be one of the best examples that carried the Saab Sonett I legacy forward. Not only that, but the Kei roadster borrowed the mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive recipe from Honda's first supercar, the NSX. But those weren't the only parts with NSX written all over; the Honda Beat's oddball 656cc naturally-aspirated three-cylinder has individual throttle bodies, and produces 64 hp @8,100 rpm! Impressive considering it lacks turbocharging.

However, the real party piece is the fantastic engine tone, reminiscent of a race car. The Beat might be the best example of a three-cylinder sound, with harmonics that match the NSX's V6 engine. Of course, with that little power and comical 44 lb-ft of torque, the Beat wasn't fast, hitting 60 mph in around 13 seconds. But the Beat isn't about speed. It's about having fun. You can hit the 9,000-rpm limiter on this car everywhere and at any given moment. No track days are necessary.

Let's not forget the mid-engine RWD layout and low 1,675-pound curb weight, which make the Beat an incredibly agile sports car. It might be the closest thing to a street-legal go-kart. Add to that a slick-shifting Honda five-speed manual, and you won't be able to stop grinning while driving the Beat. Only in this case, your grin will appear the moment you look at the baby supercar vibes it gives.

Maybe you are the espresso type, but we promise — this Cappuccino will give you the shivers. Yeah, its engine is housed under the front bonnet, unlike in the Beat, but Suzuki still opted for rear-wheel drive. Crucially, its three-cylinder 657cc engine is turbocharged. So, although it has the same 64 hp figure as the Beat — the maximum allowed for a Kei car, the Cappuccino has 62 lb-ft of torque. Oh, and because it also has an intercooler from the factory, tuning it to 120 hp is an easy-peasy job.

As you'd expect, the Cappuccino doesn't sound as exciting as the Honda Beat. It's also not as thrilling to look at. But if you want more power, this is the way to go. It weighs less than 1,600 pounds, so you won't need to overwork the engine too much to keep up with bigger sports cars. The official factory 0-60 figure is 8 seconds, so you could imagine what doubling the power could do.

Still, like with every Kei sports car, it's all about the experience. The lightness of the chassis also benefits the handling, with the tiny dimensions helping you position the Cappuccino anywhere you want in the corner — even on tight, twisty roads.

The AZ-1 borrows what's great from the Honda Beat and Suzuki Cappuccino, and sprinkles it with exotic spice. This unique Kei car from Mazda's defunct sub-brand Autozam offers many cool and unique features, such as gullwing doors, a mid-engine RWD layout, and catchy looks. So, unlike its rivals, the AZ-1 has an Italian supercar vibe, albeit in a tiny package.

In the middle, the Autozam AZ-1 has the same turbocharged three-cylinder engine as the Cappuccino, meaning it produces 64 hp and 62 lb-ft of torque. It's mated to a five-speed manual and needs to carry less than 1,600 pounds of curb weight. So, as you'd expect, it's equally fun to drive as its Kei rivals, and pretty quick too. Also, since it's turbocharged and intercooled from the factory, tuning the 657cc engine to over 100 hp shouldn't be hard.

However, everything pales in comparison to the visual drama of the Autozam AZ-1. Yes, the gullwing doors are the headline act, but Mazda also got the proportions right. Furthermore, the big rear spoiler and Ferrari-esque side vents add aggressiveness to that cute, frog-eye face. Even so, that wasn't enough for good sales, as the price was also too high for a Kei car. In the end, Autozam produced less than 4,500 units. But this only adds to the AZ-1's exotic aura and makes it a valuable classic.

Japan was the only place where you could get Kei fun machines until the turn of the millennium when Smart introduced the Roadster. This quirky-looking sports car has "Kei" written all over it. In the middle, it packs a tiny 698cc three-cylinder turbocharged engine and measures 134.9 inches long. The Smart Roadster also weighs just 1,742 pounds, which, along with the mid-engine RWD layout, allows for a very agile and balanced handling.

Unlike its Kei rivals, the Roadster was also available as a coupe. Confusingly, Smart called it the Roadster Coupe, even though it has a shooting brake rear end. The closed-top also has 80 hp, or 20 hp more than the topless version, so that's the one to get if you worry about performance. With a 0-62 mph time of 10.9 seconds, it's not a rocket, but that's largely due to its slow-shifting six-speed automated manual transmission. At the time, these flappy-paddle gearboxes were seen as futuristic, but from today's standpoint, Smart should've probably used a good old manual. Brabus fortunately made a 100-hp version that reached 62 mph in 9.8 seconds, but it still had the clunky six-speed automated gearbox.

[Featured image by SurfaceAgentX2Zero via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY-SA 4.0]